Setting Up The Pieces
by Triple Cross
Summary: Ai's past haunts as she begins to doubt if there is goodness in human hearts. Meanwhile, the Organization and the FBI are setting up the ultimate chess game. As things begin to snowball, Conan will need all the help he can get for the final checkmate.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The walls were a weary gray around her, the sun only barely peeking over the horizon. Haibara Ai had once again woken up before dawn, as she usually did. Throwing the covers off her body, Haibara stepped out of bed. She was covered in a thin layer of sweat and her eyes were wide open and she headed for the bathroom.

Locking the door behind her, Haibara looked at herself in the mirror. She softly murmured to herself, as she looked fearfully at her reflection, "A- am I a good person?"

Though spending her days among eight year olds (and Conan) had dulled the old memories a bit, they still appeared in her dreams. Her sister, telling her to be happy; her bosses, telling her to kill; the mice, collapsed after tasting just a drop of her handiwork; the human test subjects, faces scarred with pain. But it had all been science…all detached from her. But now the scenes came back, more real and vivid than even when she had first seen them.

To have ventured into such forbidden realms in biochemistry and to have caused misery to so many people, how could she live like this, in the midst of such good: Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, Genta…so innocent…and Conan, the paragon of justice and truth?

Next to them, she was the genius chemist, which had developed a toxin which had ruined one boys life and ended scores of others – a veritable devil. She had tried to kill herself after her sister died, and even that she couldn't pull off properly. All she could do to atone now was try to make an antidote, so she could at least give Shinichi his life back. But that wasn't enough. 'Nothing ever is,' she thought to herself.

Tears leaked out of her eyes and she fell onto the bathroom mat and sobbed quietly to herself. 'Neechan…what would you do? Help me…'

She sat in the bathroom for nearly an hour, until she heard the low series of grunts, which meant Professor Agasa was close to waking up. Slipping out of the bathroom, she went back to her own room and slipped herself under her blankets. She shivered a little and gave a little hiccup. Her eyes were puffy and pink. Hopefully, she'd have a semblance of normality by the time Agasa came to call her to breakfast.

Meanwhile, Agasa hummed blearily as he brushed his teeth and washed his face. Slogging downstairs, he threw on a lab coat before heading for the refrigerator. Taking out some bread and eggs, he began to cook breakfast. It was nearly an hour before he went up to call Haibara and by then, she had pretty much settled down. She ate the fried eggs and buttered toast expressionlessly; her walls were up, her gates were closed, and the moat was filled with alligators. She was ready to face the world.

Suddenly, there was a series of knocking at the door. From outside came a muffled, girlish squeak, "Professor! You promised to take us to beach today!" A slightly deeper, gravelly voice added, sounding rather annoyed, "And Conan already left with the Mouri's! He's gonna get there a head of us!"

Opening the door, Agase smiled, "Now, now, settle down. We'll head out in just a few minutes." The three kids waiting outside, Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko ran inside and into the garage. Agase opened the garage door and got inside the driver's seat in his Beetle. Haibara, after wiping her mouth, followed the ground into the garage and got into the backseat along with the other children.

The Beetle revved up and backed out of the garage door. Closing the garage via remote, Agasa maneuvered the car onto the street. Soon, the little yellow Beetle was buzzing toward the coastline.

Ayumi looked out at the highway excitedly and soon, an idea popped into her head. "Hey! Let's play a game!"

Genta and Mitsuhiko turned to her in unison while Haibara closed her eyes, feigning sleep. "Every time you see a red car or truck, you call it and you get a point! Every car can only give one point though."

Mitsuhiko nodded, excited, while Genta grinned and added, "And the losers buy the winner eel on rice!"

Ayumi and Mitsuhiko stared at him flatly as Genta's smile drooped. "No?"

Turning to Haibara, Ayumi inquired, "How 'bout you, Haibara-chan?"

Haibara didn't even bother opening her eyes. "I'll pass."

Ayumi's sparkling eyes dimmed, but she was soon distracted when Mitsuhiko shouted, "I see one! I get the first point!"

Genta , Mitsuhiko and Ayumi soon got very caught up in the game.

"I see one! That point is mine!"

"No, I saw it first"

"No, I did!"

Giving a slight frown, Haibara opened one eye and looked out at the sky. She usually rejected their invitations to their more inane games, 'But,' she thought to herself, 'am I doing this because these games are too simple for me? Or is it because…I don't want to disturb their perfect, sacred, childhood with the likes of me?' She sighed. The sun was shining, the sky was a nice deep blue, and the clouds were light a puffy. It was a beautiful day, and it was unworthy to be enjoyed by her.

Resting her cheek on her palm, Haibara glumly looked out at the scenery whizzing by her, as the land around her changed from being covered in buildings, to being covered in trees, to being covered in grass, and finally to being covered in sand. As the car neared the resort they were going to be staying at, Haibara suddenly heard police sirens. 'Looks like Kudo beat us,' she thought to herself sardonically.

The car coasted to a stop; Agasa rushed out and asked the nearest police officer, "What happened?"

"There was a murder; you won't be able to enter the hotel until the police can guarantee it's safe."

"But Officer Tagaki! Conan's in there!"

Officer Tagaki's eyes widened when he saw the four Dectective Boys and Professor Agasa at his feet. "Y-you guys!"

Genta stepped up, shoving out his chest, "Ha! We'll solve this mystery in no time! Let us through!"

Not even a step behind him, Mitsuhiko backed him up, "Yeah! We're the Detective Boys!"

Tagaki smiled uncomfortably, "But orders are orders, I still can't let yo-"

He suddenly felt someone tapping his shoulder. Turning around slowly, he saw stammered, "O-Officer Satou!"

The woman looked at him with the eyes of a hawk. "Jeez, Tagaki, no balls at all, hm?"

Tagaki laughed sheepishly. Beckoning the ground with her finger, Satou said, "Come on, I'll take you to that Sleeping Kogoro and his group. I'm sure we can make an exception…after all, you're that _meitantei's_ friends."

Haibara concealed a smirk at the huge injection of sarcasm that Satou had put in the word 'Meitantei'.

The group followed Satou through the open area in front of the resort. The effect of the colorful flags on top of the building, the crisply cut lawn surrounding the building, and a sparkling ocean in the background, was ruined by the dark clothed police sentries posted all around the building.

When they reached the front door, Satou turned around. "Alright, I have to return to patrolling." Kneeling down, she patted Ayumi on the head, "Be good, kids!"

"Thanks, Satou-san!" Ayumi chirped back.

The moment the group entered the resort, they were accosted by a clerk.

"Customers?" he inquired. Agasa nodded. Shaking his head, the clerk told him, "Sorry about this, but we're closed for the rest of the week. The beach is closed as well. The owner who owned all of this land was just killed, so we'll be closed up until things settle."

The clerk bowed and said, "We're really sorry about this", before shuffling away. The ground of children groaned in collective disappointment when Genta perked up. "Look! It's that old man, Kogorou!"

Looking in the direction Genta was pointing, Mitsuhiko exclaimed, "And Conan!"

Haibara followed as the group ran over to the group of police, who included Inspecter Megure and Officer Shiatori, and the meitantei, Kogouro, his daughter, Ran, and as Kogouro introduced, the leecher, Conan. In front of the group stood the three suspects, a bulky, short man wearing overalls, a tall, elegant lady in a summer dress, and a medium sized scientist who wore glasses, a lab coat, and gloves.

Kogouro strutted in front of his audience and, with a grin that told everyone he knew something they didn't, announced, "Now, the moment you've all been waiting for, when I, Mouri Kogouro, will reveal to everyone here, the murderer! Hokota puppeteer, age 43; Kei, age 38, environmental scientist, and Jennie, age 25, American model…Ha, among you three, it is obvious! Hokota! You did it! You're the one who killed the owner of this resort about an hour ago in his office using a knife!"

"You're a puppeteer! I bet you heard that the owner was looking to sponsor a new animated TV show! Angry that your ancient art was being shunned for newer technology, you decided to defend your pride. You are well muscled, strong enough to overpower a man like the owner and afterwards, you took out your knife and you slashed him on the back of the head! Then,you hid the instruments you used in your puppets! That why we couldn't find them! Then you –"

Hokota protested, "But I don't even have any puppets with me! I'm on vacation!"

Kogouro scoffed, "Ha! Nice try, but what kinda puppeteer has no puppets?"

Inspector Megure shook his head, "What Hokota said is true. We found no puppets in his room or in his luggage or in the premises of this resort. Or weapons."

Considering this previously ignored fact, Kogouro laughed sheepishly before becoming serious. With eyes as hard as flint, Kogouro exclaimed, "In that case…you must also be a sword swallower!"

Inspector Megure stared at him in disbelief, "Uh alright, do you have any solid proof of his guilt?"

"Uh…about that…"

Conan's right eye suddenly developed a twitch. 'Alright. We're done.'

He opened the targeting screen of his stun watch and took aim at the great "Sleeping Kogouro". Indeed, as soon as Conan's dart hit his neck, Kogouro lived up to his name, spinning in a circle before collapsing on the sofa behind him, unconscious.

Inspector Megure nudged Officer Shiatori standing beside him and whispered, "Here it comes!"

Putting his mouth to his voice altering bowtie, Conan said in Kogouro's voice, "Ahaha! Just…kidding?"

The assembled group of both suspects and police blinked at the detective in shock. One thought ran through their minds: "…Kidding? At a time like this?"

Undeterred by his stunned audience, Conan continued, "The issue at large is what happened to the murder weapon. Each of the suspects had entered their room once in the thirty minutes before the murder and each had left with a bag. While this normally would not be enough to determine anything, I've not only figured out what the murder weapon was and the method used, but also the culprit. Kei! It was you!"

Kei laughed uneasily, "You – you gotta be joking! I'm just a scientist! I was doing some research on this region's ecosystem! And I'm only staying here one night! I was supposed to leave today when this happened!

"Kei, I've noticed your bag is insulated, like a cooler."

"S-so?"

"The only way to transport dry ice and to keep it from melting for more than a couple hours is to keep it in such a bag, which was found stuffed with newspaper – no doubt an additional insulator. Additionally, in the security video, you were seen leaving your room wearing thick gloves. To be able to handle dry ice without getting burned, you would need gloves such as these. Lastly, dry ice is actually very dense, twice the density of wet ice; that means it's perfect as a weapon. The fact that you're only staying at this resort for a short period of time also makes sense because while you can slow down the natural sublimation of the ice with insulators, it would still melt if you stayed or waited too long. You are a scientist and getting something such as chunks of dry ice shouldn't be difficult at all. You no doubt sharpened the ice into a blade shape before the murder – this is where the slash marks came from. You cut the back of her neck instead of the front because you were aiming for the nerves leading to the brain, not the blood vessels on the front of her neck – not only is this method quieter, there is also minimal blood loss from the victim. You didn't want blood getting onto your gloves as you couldn't easily dispose of them. In any case, after the murder, you probably rinsed the blood off of the dry ice, dried it, and threw the blades out of the window. Upon hitting the ground, the ice would disperse instantly. Your motive is probably the fact that the owner has been maltreating the land that he owns, disrupting local ecosystems by bringing in invasive tropic species for the benefit of tourists, as well as damaging the coral reefs lying offshore by allowing motor boating in this area. His damage to the Earth, which you had dedicated your life to studying, defending, and preserving, you judged to be unforgivable – so you killed him. "

Kei stammered, "T-that's entirely speculation! Coincidence and speculation." Realizing there indeed had been no proof presented, Kei adjusted his posture before grinning triumphantly at Kogouro. "Detectives and scientists are a lot alike, without the data to prove your hypothesis, "Sleeping" Kogouro, I'm afraid that your hypothesis is simply just a wild guess. However, I admit your logic is interesting."

Conan smirked. The suspect was getting kind of arrogant. Putting the bowtie to his mouth again, Conan called, "Alright, bring the bag in." A member of the crime scene investigation squad entered the room.

"Here you go, Mouri-san." The man gave Kei's insulated bag and a sheet of statistics to the unconscious Kogouro. Manipulating Kogouro's arm, Conan had the unconscious man look at the sheet before dropping it – letting him have a look.

Conan continued, "You're right. I need evidence. You should know that dry ice is made of carbon. Putting dry ice in a warm environment will obviously cause it to sublimate, and your bag is such an environment. As the bag is normally zipped up, I had a feeling that if my hypothesis, as you say, is correct, that the air inside the bag would have an unusually high concentration of carbon in it. And according to the analysis of an air sample taken inside the bag, the air inside is composed of over 4% gaseous carbon. The usual amount is about .2% carbon. There was clearly something emitting carbon inside your bag. Where is it now?"

The two other suspects stared as Kei fell on his knees, mouth open. 'To think that I was out analyzed by him…truly a great detective.'

Looking up at the seated "Sleeping" Kogouro, Kei smiled wryly, "Ah, there's one thing wrong with your theory. I threw the ice from the balcony. Not the window."

Inspector Megure nodded grimly, "Excellent, Mouri-san! Alright then, Shiatori, you know what to do!"

Conan, peeking around the corner of the sofa, smiled to himself as Shiatori placed handcuffs around Kei's wrists. 'That's the way the cookie crumbles.'

Suddenly, Haibara stepped behind the crouching detective. "Kudo. I need to talk to you."

Conan's head bounced up and his breath seemed to get stuck in his throat. Whipping around, he sighed in relief, "Oh, it's just you, Haibara. So? What do you want?"

A shadow of hesitancy crossed over her face. "It's just that, that…how do you know what you're doing is so RIGHT all the time?"

Conan's eye brows lifted in surprise. "What do you mean? Well, my deductions are always supported by evidence. That's how I know I'm right, I guess."

"No, no, not that. How do you know what you do is correct? How do you know you're a good person?"

Conan laughed, ruefully. "Oh, well if you put it like that, then I can only answer…that I'm not. Justice is a cruel thing, Haibara. To send someone to prison is never something anyone should enjoy and after all, two wrongs don't make a right… But to assault others and to kill them – now, that's over the line. And it's my job to stop them and uncover the truth so that the perpetrator can be held responsible."

After considering his answer for a moment, Haibara asked sharply, "You say you do bad to do good. How do you justify that?"

Conan looked up at the ceiling and gave a small smile, "I asked myself these very questions before, you know. Two wrongs don't make a right, but intention is important. I've promised to always intend to protect everyone, even from themselves. Sometimes I fail, like in the Moonlight Sonata case, but…I can't let this go. Even if I have to witness the most gruesome murders and confine the criminal to a life in a cell, as long as they-", Conan nodded at Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta, who were listening to the suspect's confession, "don't have to suffer, I'm willing to bear it.

His discourse having finally ended, he blinked and looked at Haibara suspiciously. "Wait a sec. Why do you ask?"

Ai closed her eyes and gave a half-smile. "No reason."

'Wrong, right….Good, bad…Truth, lies. What are they? Does goodness even exist? In the end…not even you, Kudo, can call yourself a good person.'

Haibara quietly started walking away. As soon as Conan couldn't see her face any more, the smile dropped instantly. 'Not even you.'

'I don't even know what I was hoping for....'

Conan could only watch as she treaded out of the room. Just as she disappeared around the corner, Sleeping Kougoro woke up., yawning, "Mmph, eh, Whahs go'hn aw?"

The Detective Boys, minus Conan and Ai, rushed over to the detective. Ayumi gushed, "That was amazing." Nodding Mitsuhiko added, "The sublimation of the dry ice would've meant that no trace was left! The fact you managed to solve it…"

Genta, was less enthusiastic. "I could've done it too, if I wasn't so hungry."

Kougoro, even with his limited deduction skills, soon managed to figure out what happened, of course, excluding the rather important part of being shot by a stun dart. "Haha! Of course! No criminal is safe when the mighty Sleeping Kougoro is around! Whaha!"

'…I'm more worried about the innocents.,' Conan thought to himself dryly. 'Hehe. But…Haibara, that was strange earlier. Is something troubli – no... Something's definitely off. I should talk to her."

Switching off his bowtie, Conan ran after her. He could hear his other friend's disappointment behind him though; the case had distracted them for a while, but it was nothing compared with not going to the beach. Secretly, he was a bit disappointed too. 'Ran…swimsuit…'

Fiercely shaking his head, Conan looked around him for a sign of Ai. Although he had run in the same direction Haibara had, the girl had disappeared. 'Strange.'

Shrugging, Conan ran back to the group, who, having changed tack already, was instead planning their next camping trip.

'I'll find her later. She'll be alright. After all, she's Ai Haibara...a regular Thornmallow. Prickly on the outside but...-'

'Hm...' He frowned slightly.

----------

**A/N: My first story in this fandom; take a few moments of your time and review. I'm very estatic that the number of views of this story has finally reached 80 (eh, I guess its a slow fandom and not having Ran in it probably alienates even more people), but I've gotten two reviews so far and I'm eager for feed back. Love it? Hate it? Tell me what you think! I'm always eager for constructive criticism.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**(A/N: Wow, sorry to make you wait for this - which is just a transition scene. However, I finished Chapters VII and VII, so...uh, you'll have more regular updates in the future? Positives! Positives!)**

After the incident at the beach resort, Conan was taken home by a highly irritated Mouri Kogouro, whose high spirits had vanished when he heard what had become of his day of staring at girls in skimpy swimsuits. Instead he spent the rest of the day watching Yoko Okino reruns, and by late afternoon, he had predictably managed to drink himself into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi had insisted they go to the arcade to make up for missing the beach, dragging Haibara with them. And so, after going to the arcade...and then to the mall to see a display of the newest Masked Yaiba cards...and then to the ice cream parlor because Genta was hungry...and then to a restaurant because it was dinner time...they finally managed to conclude the day by making a circuit around Beika city, dropping off each of the children at their respective houses. By the time Prof. Agasa and Haibara got home, it was already nine o'clock.

It had been an anxious six hours for Conan, who couldn't resist dashing to the window every ten minutes and checking if the Professor had brought Haibara home yet.

'Haibara... I wonder what she meant when she asked me how I knew I was a good person. When'd she get into philosophy anyway?'

Turning the question over in his head, Conan looked for some strange ulterior motive behind the question to no avail. Instead, he resigned him self to peering out the window again, to check if Agasa's yellow Beetle had returned yet.

'Why does Haibara have to think about such weird things anyway? All it does is make me worry about her...'

He sighed in disappointment and went to go get a mystery novel from his room. At least it'd kill some time.

However, unbeknown to him, Ran had been watching him ever since they had got back, a wistful look in her eyes.

'I wish Shinichi was back... Ai-chan doesn't know how lucky she is to have someone like Conan waiting for her. I remember that Shinichi used to do that for me every time I got home from somewhere... He run right up to our car and bang on my window. Then he'd wave and run off...and Dad was always right behind him, trying to catch him.'

She giggled. Those had been the days...

Looking on, she was almost jealous as Conan suddenly ripped himself from his mystery novel to plaster his face against the window for the twenty-second time. 'Just like Shinichi...'

Later that night, she wasn't surprised when Conan bounced over to her excitedly right after she heard Agasa's car pull into his drive way. "Ran-neechan! Professor Agasa is finally back! Umm... Can I sleep over at his house tonight?!"

Ran pretended to consider it very seriously for a moment before exclaiming mischievously, "Conan-kun! Hmmm...I think I know why you want to go over!"

Conan looked at her surprised. "You do?"

Ran smiled, "You've been looking at the window all day! It's Ai-chan, isn't it? Is that why you want to go over to Agase's? To spend all night by her side?"

He was momentarily aghast. 'That sounds like something Sonoko would say...'

Quickly regaining his composure, Conan pouted before lamenting in his most pitiful voice, "Ran-neechannnn...it makes me sad that you'd even suspect that."

Giggling to herself, Ran patted Conan on the head. "How cute! Alright then, you can go, but only because you remind me so much of Shinichi right now. He used to wait for me like this too...but now I guess my turn to wait for him..."

Looking down at Conan's blank face, she blushed before quickly saying, "Um, anyway, I'll get your stuff together! Have fun!"

Conan, managing a sickeningly cute voice, gushed, "Thanks Ran-neechan!", before turning around and running into the living room.

His chest was feeling a bit numb. 'Why does it feel like I just chose Ai over Ran right now? Gah...Dammit. I can't even tell what my own thoughts are right now... All I know is that seeing Ran like this...I hate it. Ran, I promise that I'll tell you everything one day, antidote or no antidote...'

Slowing to a stop, he looked down at his tiny hands. 'But for now, both of us will just have to wait a little longer.' Punching the wall with his small, curled fist, he realized just how helpless he was feeling at the moment.

His own turmoil, Ran's situation and Ai's strange questions...

There was nothing he could do about any of it.

* * *

Having watched Conan sprint out of the room, Ran hummed as she went to go gather everything Conan might need. 'He sure is excited!'

Rummaging through Conan's room, she brought out a change of clothing, his pajamas and several mystery books. To go along with them were his tooth brush, tooth paste, a towel to wash his face with, and of course, to make sure the ghosts don't get him, a night light.

Putting it all in a convenient little backpack, Ran called, "Conan, are you ready?!"

Appearing out of no where, Conan eagerly grabbed the bag. As he headed out of the door, he heard Ran call after him, "Now Conan, don't forget to brush your teeth! I packed some mystery books for you! Don't do anything dangerous! And come home safely!"

Pack in tow, Conan walked over to Professor Agasa's house before knocking on the door. The Professor answered it, weary, after dealing with the Detective Boys for the entire day. "Shinichi? What are you doing here?"

Smiling sheepishly, Conan pointed at his pack. "I'm sleeping over tonight!"

Rolling his eyes exasperatedly at Conan's unexpected appearance, the Professor let Conan in. "That's fine, I guess," Agasa said, as if he had any other choice, "but I'd at least like to know the reason you're staying here."

Conan nodded. At the very least, he owed the old professor that. "I need to talk to Ai."

Comprehending it was something important, Agasa directed him to the guest room up stairs.

Setting down his down his pack, Conan took out his pajamas, his night light (he had no idea why Ran always seemed to insist on packing it for him; it wasn't as if he was afraid of the dark), his toothbrush and his towel and tossed them on the bed. He left the mystery books where they were. It wasn't very likely he'd be reading them tonight anyway. Having unpacked, he set out to hunt down Ai.

Judging from the fact she spent most of her free time researching, he had a feeling that she was in the lab, working.

He was right.

Opening the door, he found one Haibara Ai, certified genius in biochemistry and toxicology, hunched over a computer typing rapidly. He called out to her, "Oi! Haibara!"

Hearing his voice, she froze. 'Why oh why was he here right now?'

Her hands flickered like lightning, logging her out of her computer in two smooth keystrokes. Without sparing a single glance at Conan, Haibara swept by him, out the door, up the stairs, and out of reach.

Conan, surprised by her abrupt departure, could do nothing else but follow her, and, a minute later, he found himself sitting with his back against the wall facing the door to the bathroom. She had, in a brilliant escape maneuver, made a beeline straight for the showers and now he was stuck waiting for her outside the bathroom.

Aimlessly finding funny patterns in the carpet as he waited, he felt the minutes tick by - first five, then ten, and now twenty.

Musing to himself, he noted, 'She's staying in there an awfully long time. Maybe its just because she's a girl and she naturally takes a really long time in the bathroom... Or maybe she's trying to avoid me because of the question she asked me earlier. Hm...'

At long last, she came out, with a towel around her body and her hair dripping with water. Conan stared up at her. She stared back, not looking happy to see him at all. Gesturing at her towel clad body, she said scathingly, "You know, Kudo, I didn't think the Great Detective of the East was into nine year old girls. Ran will be devastated."

Rolling his eyes, Conan turned his gaze to the wall, before asking, "Oi, Haibara, is there something up? You're acting a little different today..."

He waited a few seconds but received no response. Turning around, he realized Haibara had already retreated to her room.

Conan sighed, feeling stymied. 'Haibara...I swear that she's better at escaping than KID is.'

Waiting a few minutes, to give her enough time to get dressed, Conan tried the door knob to her room. Unsurprisingly, it was locked. The moment he let go of the door knob, the lights in Haibara's room went out. Either she was going to sleep right now or she was sitting in the dark waiting for him to go away.

'Well, you can't force this sort of thing...'

Seeing he was not going to be talking to her today, short of picking the lock or bashing down the door, Conan walked slowly back to his room. All that waiting for nothing. At least Ran packed some mystery books for him.

He showered and brushed his teeth before settling down with a copy of _"The Adventure of the Speckled Band"_.

He had to admit, having already read it six times did dampen the mystery a bit...but it shouldn't...have been enough...to get his eye lids...to...to...

Droop...

...

* * *

When he woke up again, it was still dark. Mumbling to himself, he glanced at the clock for a moment. 'Two fifty-two...'

Groping his way through the dark corridors of Agasa's house, he stumbled his way down stairs and headed for the bathroom.

He relieved himself before stepping back into the darkness of the house. 'Hm...a glass of milk would be really nice right now.'

Still a bit sleep addled, Conan felt his legs suddenly turn and bring his body down to the kitchen and where his arms poured him a glass of milk.

Sipping it on his way back up the stairs, he felt the shroud around his head lighten as he got used to the sensations of being awake. And as he walked, he felt something he missed the first time around: a light draft. It was subtle; Conan had to give it credit. Any lesser man wouldn't have noticed it at all. And it was coming from Haibara's room.

A series of thoughts zipped through his head: 'Strange. Did Haibara leave her window wide open? Why would she do that? She, of all people, would know she'd get a cold...'

Checking the door knob, he found the room still locked.

Pursing his lips, Conan looked at the door knob in realization before dashing back down stairs, throwing on some slippers, and blowing out the front door. Heading around to the back of the house, he found what he had suspected: Haibara's window thrown wide open and a chain of bed sheets lowered from the window.

She had escaped.

He paused a moment to admire the sight. While it had been specifically built to escape him, it bore a strange and elusive artistry, something that only an out-witted detective could appreciate.

Perhaps...perhaps he'd get a chance to talk to her today after all.

Glancing down at his milk which was now numbing his hand, he realized that he had forgot to microwave it. Cold milk in a night like this was no good.

He hurried back into the house.

* * *

The room was dark, illuminated only by the light of a series of computer screens. In front of them worked, as usual, Haibara Ai, who had decided to forgo the usual nightmare for a night of respite in the lab.

However, it was doing nothing but irking her. Her weariness was beginning to show; she had forgotten to take into account how free hydrogen atoms would affect the bonding of two components in her antidote-to-be. The mixture had almost finished cooling and all she could do was stare, frustrated, at the little block of precipitate that had appeared out of her solution. Dumping the entire beaker down a nearby sink, Haibara fell into her computer chair as her mind wandered away from abstruse chemical formulas, back to the concept of good and evil.

Closing her eyes, she heard her voice echoing in her mind, 'Hmph. Not even Kudo knew what good was. But that shouldn't be unexpected. If I analyze this, then it's obvious that good and evil are relative...And as long as humans can develop opinions, there are no absolutes.'

'However, evil is inherently more powerful; death can almost never have good consequences. Meanwhile, if you do good, there are potentially harmful consequences through the butterfly effect.'

'So if I act evil, then I'm almost certainly acting evil, but if I try to be good, there is also a good chance I am being evil. While evil can be potentially good, it is far less likely than good to be evil.'

She paused, letting the strange logic whirl around her like fallen leaves, comprehending only the fact that she comprehended nothing.

'So how do you know for certain?'

She felt her thoughts drifting again and taking her with them, as if she were on a cloud. This time, the image of a bright faced teenage girl replaced the quandary of good and evil. 'Ran...how she bothers me. She's so much like Akemi. And she's so selfless. Everything that I'm not, she is. A practical angel.'

Haibara smiled dryly to herself. But she was an angel too.

There was a quote she remembered dimly - said by Dr. Oppenheimer referring to the powers of Shiva. That quote, that Hindu God, seemed to suit her perfectly.

"I have become death, the destroyer of worlds..."

Yes, that was it.

She was an angel of death, the souls of thousands billowing around her in a flowing cape, their skulls at her feet and their bony hands grasping her wings, grasping for the life that had once empowered them... These hands, which rattled when she stretched her wings, reminded her that no matter what, she could never truly be free.

Atonement. That was her only hope. The last little spirit in Pandora's box. Hope...but how powerless hope was.

Suddenly, the lights sprang on, waking her from her reverie and blinding her momentarily. In her blindness, she heard a small voice call to her. "Haibara?"

It was Conan, clad in pajamas and holding a glass of milk. "What are you doing here Conan? Do you know how late it is?" Haibara hissed at him.

Conan scoffed. "_I_ was using the bathroom and getting a glass of milk. The question is, what are _you _doing here and do _you_ know how late it is Haibara?"

Blinking her eyes hard, Haibara met his challenge and with a broadside which would shame battleships, shot back, "_I'm _making the antidote to fix your sorry little life. As for time, what is it? One o'clock?"

Conan stared at her, thinking to himself, 'Isn't your fault that my life is sorry and little?'

Out loud though, he was thankfully more tactful:" No. It's three. _In the morning_."

Ignoring her obviously heated words, Conan strode courageously up to her, into the teeth of a reared tiger. Putting the glass milk in front of her, Conan said, as if it were an ordinary gesture, "Here. I took a few sips, but its still warm. Now come on, let's talk. Why are you up so late?"

His congeniality disarmed her and she, unsure of what to do, settled down, feeling confused at her own outburst. Not able to meet the boy's inquiring eyes, Haibara directed her answer toward the cup of milk, "What about it? What if I can't sleep?"

'And what if I don't want to have nightmares again? What if I don't want to wake up sweating and panting?'

Conan moved closed, still looking at her. "Tell me what's wrong, Haibara."

His appeal must have had exuded some sort of strange gravity, because she suddenly felt her gaze rising to meet his. Suddenly, she felt her eyes locked to the windows to Conan's soul.

"Tell me," she heard, though nothing was said, "Tell me anything. Please. I will listen. I will help."

But she couldn't.

How could she, when he did not, could not, and would never ever understand the turmoil she faced?

He was a truth seeker, and her, a poison maker. To vocalize her crimes would be to show all the world that she was naught but a murderer. She couldn't do that. She couldn't tell him.

After all, for those few seconds, he was all the world.

Her clouded eyes broke from his piercing gaze, and she mumbled to him, "Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

There was a pause, as the two children stared at each other wordlessly, Haibara shocked by her own meekness and Conan having caught the obvious lie before it had even left her mouth.

Rage and panic simmered as she sought to find her bearings. She had been taken by those orbs of dazzling blue and for a moment, she had shown her weakness to him. Eyes still riveted to the floor, Haibara marshaled her thoughts and, feeling Conan's eyes still focused on her, steeled herself in preparation for meeting him head on.

It was a curious sensation, to feel her neck and facial muscles harden in resolve, and all of a sudden, she found her gaze level with his again, in a contest between two equals. Her voice was once again unwavering and strong and it resonated as she said, "Alright Kudo. We talked. Are you satisfied? Now please leave me. All you are is an annoyance."

But he moved not backward, but forward, disregarding her dismissal. Appearing next to her, he placed his hands on the key board and promptly opened a new window on the computer. She heard the keys clack with unknown words appearing on the screen. Her view of the action was obscured by the fact she was looking the exact opposite direction as where her computer was, and trying to spin her chair around, she quickly found that Conan had bodily blocked her swivel chair from turning.

This touch of annoyance and feeling of strange paralysis in her swivel chair brought her emotions to a raging boil. With a sudden burst of action, she spun the chair around, and forcibly tossed Conan to the side.

"I don't know what's so complicated about this, 'all man kind's epitome'. All I want you to do is leave me alone," Haibara practically snarled, while assuming her rightful place as mistress of the computer.

Taken aback by her ferociousness, Conan, quickly scrambled a respectful distance away from the enraged tigress. He massaged his ribs before taking two more steps back, ensuring he was out of Haibara's reach.

Watching Conan look cautiously at her, she basked in her own cleverness. Between her sarcasm and the quote she was referring too, she had just insulted him doubly. And with any luck, he'd now be wary enough of her to leave her alone when she was in the lab.

However, she quickly realized she had underestimated Conan as his caution evaporated and he rolled his eyes at her.

Reciting the very quote she had referenced, Conan said, "A man so various that he seemed to be not one, but all mankind's epitome. Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong; Was everything by starts, and nothing long. But, in the course of one revolving moon - was chemist, fiddler, statesman, and buffoon. John Dryden, if I recall correctly."

He smiled wryly, the pain in his ribs having nearly disappeared. _"_Ha-_ha_. Funny Haibara."

Haibara shrugged coolly, a tad disappointed that she had not gotten her little trick past him. "I thought so too."

They stared at each other again, a battle of wills between a helping hand and an iron gate.

Pushing and prodding here and there, Conan found her resolve unbending. But there was no forcing things like these. Struck with no other recourse, boy resigned, wrinkling his nose at his defeat. "Alright. Alright. I got the message, Haibara. I'll leave you alone. But remember, if you ever need someone to talk too..."

The door clicked shut as Conan stepped out, leaving his sentence hanging and her alone.

Slowly, peace settled and the electric tension that had filled the room moments before drifted away. Haibara found herself reclining deeply into her chair, feeling completely spent.

So, in the end, she had won.

But then why did it not feel like a victory?

She shook her head and put her face in her hands.

That Conan, he had always cared about her so much. Too much. It drew her to him and it made her feel guilty - for all that she had done to him, for the mess she had involved him in, and for the fact that she couldn't seem to let him go. So she tried to shun him.

But somehow, he could always tell when something was wrong. And then... contrary to everything she tried, he'd be there for her.

And now, he had comforted her again.

Sure, he was the only one who could understand her situation, who could understand what the Black Organization meant and how it felt to be shrunk - the only one who could understand Miyano Shiho, Sherry, and Ai Haibara all at once.

But he had a life to go back to. Everyone was waiting for him, especially Ran.

And that's why she couldn't afford to get attached to him.

Looking back at the screen, she saw the web page he had pulled up. It was Shiva. Shiva the Destroyer...Shiva, the Destroyer of evil and old habits - and a symbol of the essential good of humanity.

An angel of renewal, huh?

She gave a small smile. So he had heard her quote Oppenheimer.

A small yawn leaked out of her mouth. She shook her head and turned off the monitor. Maybe it _was_ a little late after all.

Midway out of the room, Haibara couldn't help but feel as if she had forgotten something... Looking back, she stared at the lonely glass of milk sitting on her computer desk, still pulsating with warmness.

When she finally strode out the lab, she bore a milk mustache spread above her mouth shaped like angel's wings.

**Alright! As usual, please review; its all the better if you want to critique me. I'll be the first to admit that something about the way I'm writing this doesn't feel right. I haven't quite hit my stride yet, but if you have any tips or suggestions, I'll be happy to hear them! Also, my progress in writing these things can be found in my profile, so you can look there if you're ever curious.**


End file.
